Body Language Is Beneficial in Improving Verbal Communication

A language is the most effective tool in communication. Without it, communication would be vague and impossible. But, what if two people from different countries, let's say a Chinese and a German, both are not fluent in English. In what possible way can these two people from different cultures and languages understand each other, without seeking help from a translator or interpreter?

Languages are meant to be used to communicate with others; share thoughts and ideas with other people with a different culture and a different language. However, communication doesn't only involve a verbal aspect alone, but body language is also essential in rendering the meaning of every word a speaker wants to express in another tongue.

Body language is an essential part of communication; it is a reflection of the meaning of a person's non-verbal communication. When it comes to communication, we always tend to put emphasis on speech and written communication, and one of the most important means of communication which usually tells more about the speaker and the linguistic content is through our body language. The truth is that body language can be a very strong reflection of the meaning of verbal and written communication.

Body language consists of gestures, postures, facial expressions etc. When a person is becoming aware of body language and combines it with their verbal languages, it is easy for the listener to understand the meaning of the messages.

One of the ideal situations where a listener can understand more quickly another person's statement is during a police interrogation. This kind of situation is easy to distinguish whether a person is telling the truth or not, and this is through observing and understanding the person's body language.

Learning body language helps you to understand others based on their moods, mental state, gestures and facial expressions. Thus, learning and understanding more about body language can eventually help you communicate better and effectively.

This even applies in our ordinary everyday life, like when we ask our friend if he or she is okay. Your friend might say she is good, but we can say clearly through her facial expressions that she is not okay, and that something is going on. Quite often, people can understand other people through their body language without using verbal language at all.

In addition, body language may help us to understand the real meaning of the verbal communication of a person, but it is still necessary to understand the cultural background of that particular person. This is because there are some expressions such hand gestures which may be interpreted differently in other countries. For example, crossing fingers may be a gesture of wishing good luck for many countries, however, crossing fingers in Vietnam is very much rude; it is said to resemble female genitals.

Thus, reading and understanding body language may not always correspond to your own knowledge but it also depends on the cultural background of the language of a person. So, it better to gain a deeper understanding of it before jumping to a conclusion.

The emerging methods of learning a foreign language are often opposed to the traditional approach. The developed technique of learning the language via songs is in no way opposed to the approach, and produces tremendously stable positive results!

For deaf people, sign language interpreting is just as crucial a service as standard interpreting services are for hearing people when going abroad. The quality of sign language interpreters can be of crucial, indeed life-saving importance.

Body language training is important because we at Socialigence believe that "while words express thoughts, body expresses emotions"! Yet it is not just about 'reading body language' in the typical sense of the word. There is science to it.